May 2010 Archives

It's a story that is sure to shock even the most veteran Boston accident lawyer. Jordan Pena had just taken one step off the curb near a relative's house in Lawrence when a green Honda Civic zooming along the street mowed the poor boy down. NECN reports that when the car struck the Jordan Pena, the toddler went flying into a street pole.

While it seems like Boston personal injury lawyers are familiar with pedestrian accidents, this particular hit and run car accident was even more jarring because of how young the pedestrian is. According to CBS News, Jordan Pena had been playing in the driveway of his relative's home and had wandered off the curb.  

A Boston injury lawyer for the Boston Herald newspaper is asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Tom Scholz of the rock band "Boston."

Tom Scholz sues the Boston Herald, as well as "Inside Track" columnists Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa. The band member is alleging defamation, suing the Boston Herald over three "Inside Track" columns that imply that Tom Scholz allegedly drove a band member to commit suicide.

In my series of posts for parents, I add "choking hazards."

Boston personal injury lawyers are well aware of the heavy scrutiny that toys must go through. But many advocates of child safety are now urging that the same standards be applied to food. In particular, child safety advocates and the American Academy of Pediatrics are urging the Food and Drug Administration to put warning labels on foods that can potentially choke a child.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a new warning about two weight loss drugs. As such, drug manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Roche Holding AG will be required to carry warnings about rare reports of liver injury, according to U.S. health officials.

The drugs in question are Roche's prescription drug, Xenical and GlaxoSmithKline's over-the-counter drug, Alli. According to early reports, these two drugs can cause a rare but severe liver condition.

Yet another recall for salad-lovers. This time, it's Romaine lettuce.

But before we delve into the details of the latest recall, a recap is in order.

Earlier this week, discussed the alfalfa sprout recall. Caldwell Fresh Foods Inc. of California was recalling packages of alfalfa sprouts for fear of bacterial contamination. The bacteria? Salmonella.

There's been another recall for salad-lovers.

Boston personal injury lawyers are warning herbivores to beware the alfalfa sprout.

This new recall comes several weeks after a lettuce recall, which affected lettuce sold to restaurants and salad bars. The new recall is a lot more widespread and affects alfalfa sprouts sold at Trader Joe's and Walmart stores.

An oil firm from Salem has agreed to pay $50,000 as part of a settlement to a civil complaint in Suffolk Superior Court.

Clarke Brothers Inc., a company that deals in oil, was cited by the Department of Environmental Protection for being in violation of Massachusetts hazardous waste and tank removal laws. Clarke Brothers Inc. was allegedly collection and transporting waste oil without obtaining proper permits from local fire departments. Clarke Brothers Inc. was also cited for contacting an unlicensed waste transporter to dispose of the oil and providing inaccurate information when applying for permits.

Boston Globe Columnist Brian McGrory wrote a heartfelt piece on Friday, entitled "A Mother's Nightmare."

His column spoke about the horrors faced by a mother, Maryann Foote, as she witnessed the death of her 27 year old son Colin Foote, at the hands of a reckless driver. Colin Foote was riding on his motorcycle as his mother trailed him in her car. Unfortunately, she witnessed the horror of a woman speeding through a red light and hitting Colin's bike. He died as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident. 

A jury awarded $4.3 million  to the owner of a local food chain after a construction company plowed snow off a highway overpass and onto the plaintiff's truck.

According to an expert witness, the snow was the equivalent of a 3-by-8 foot block of concrete.

The plaintiff, Mark Lambert, is the owner of Lambert's Rainbow Fruit stores. As the result of the accident, Mark Lambert suffered severe back injuries and has been in constant pain since the accident, which took place in January 2005.

As I sit here this morning sipping my morning coffee, I open my Internet browser to see that there is a coffee maker recall!

The recall affects coffee makers sold at Walmart stores and involves nearly one million General Electric coffee makers.

And yes, there have been some injuries reported as a result of the flaw in these coffee makers.

Yesterday morning, I came across a rant by Yvonne Abraham of The Boston Globe. Hers was a rant that would surely perk up the ears of some Boston auto accident lawyers.

From the patio of Joe Tecce's, Yvonne Abraham watched the rush hour traffic at the intersection at North Washington, an intersection referred to by Yvonne Abraham as the "Bermuda Triangle of Basic Decency."

No, it's not old news. Toyota paid $16.4 million on Tuesday to the United States government.

The fine, which was imposed several months ago, was finally paid as Toyota cut a check to the U.S. Government.

But this check may be the first of many that Toyota Motor Corp. will have to write in regards to its sticky pedal situation and the recent recall fiasco.

As a parent, I thought that it might just be wise to do a roundup of all the recent recalls and personal injury stories affecting the young ones. While these blog posts don't necessarily mean that you should go running to the office of a Boston personal injury lawyer, the posts may shed some light on recent events and help you isolate your issues.

Talk about a Good Samaritan. Or better yet, just a good neighbor.

Bruce Briere of Lowell ran to his neighbor's aid when he heard his neighbor yelling from his back yard on Tuesday morning.

Residents of Sandwich, Massachusetts are mourning the death  of a popular and well respected local man.

Keith Yorke, a Cape Cod healthcare executive, died last Friday from injuries sustained as the result of being hit by a car. Yorke was 54 years old and left behind a wife and three children.

There have been shocking conditions found at the Johnson & Johnson facility that manufactures Tylenol.

Boston personal injury lawyers have heard about the ongoing probe into the manufacturing processes involving the making of infants' and children's Tylenol.

Boston personal injury attorneys are sitting on the edge of their seats today as research comes out of Harvard University on the link between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and pesticides.

The study sheds some interesting new light on the disorder, often seen in children, and the causal element needed to bring any personal injury lawsuit.

Got milk?

Last week, the Massachusetts Raw Milk Network met at Boston Common to protest a new move by the state to limit the activities of raw milk buying clubs.

Parents have no doubt heard the fears and concerns over BPA in baby bottles.

But the questions for Boston personal injury lawyers persist, especially in light of recent efforts by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to ban baby bottles and toddler sippy cups containing BPA. What is the issue with BPA and what can be done about it, from a legal standpoint?

This isn't a local case, but it's interesting for Boston personal injury lawyers, nevertheless.

This is the tale of a wrongful death lawsuit out of Florida. For anyone who has spent time at a hospital, whether for visiting a patient or as a patient, germs are always a key concern.

Thursday was a big day for the Toyota lawsuits.

And while there isn't any word yet as to whether any Boston accident lawyer has been one of those chosen ones, the first hearing was scheduled for Thursday in Santa Ana, California.

This was the first hearing since the 320 nationwide Toyota lawsuits were consolidated. The lawsuits spanned the nation but due to the fervor, the judicial panel felt the pressing need to bring all the cases together and to hand-pick which attorneys would be part of the special few.

While this isn't necessarily a Boston personal injury lawyer's case, it's still a national defamation circus. I couldn't resist not mentioning it in a blog post today.

Lindsay Lohan, or "Lindsay" seeing as she claims she has one-name status, is being blasted in the legal answer to her complaint filed against E*Trade.

Boston personal injury lawyers are warning people about the dangers of using a home oxygen tank.

Although much of this type of equipment is for the use of medical patients with breathing problems, the equipment carries a fatal risk. In Massachusetts alone, there have been many fatal and near-fatal fires as a result of the breathing equipment.  

Here's some great news for parents of little girls.

I'm being sarcastic. It's not great news at all. But I'm sure you can guess what I'm about to say next.

Recall!

Earlier this week, I wrote about a pedestrian accident near Boston.

Pedestrian accidents are not uncommon and can have several legal implications. It's always wise to talk to a Boston personal injury lawyer if you've been struck by a car.

A high school kid was hit by a car while waiting for a school bus in Brockton on Thursday.

The kid was texting while walking.

Now there's a new one for Boston personal injury lawyers.

Here's an article I pulled from FindLaw's Injured Blog.

Although this case takes place in New York, it's still interesting to Boston personal injury attorneys. After all, Starbucks is a national phenomenon, right?

A woman, Zeynep Inanli, claims she suffered injuries, pain and anguish after she ordered tea from a New York Starbucks. She is suing the coffee company for unspecified damages.  

Although I've largely talked about distracted driving on my Philadelphia DUI Law Blog, it's still an issue of concern for Boston personal injury lawyers.

Boston car accident lawyers and Boston personal injury lawyers are often concerned with the apportionment of fault in a car accident. And as for distracted driving, fault is very obvious.

So obvious, in fact, that distracted driving is starting to become criminal in many states.  

The victim of last year's vicious chimp attack will be spending her time at a rehab clinic in Boston.

Charla Nash, 56, lost her arms and her face last year when a 20 pound chimpanzee attacked her in Connecticut. As a result, her face was completely disfigured and she required a face transplant.

What are a Boston personal injury lawyer's concerns on E. coli?

For starters, E. coli can cause diarrhea and sometimes even bloody stools. And while the normal adult can recover from E. coli. there are those who stand to suffer greater damage or even permanent damage. Some people, typically the elderly or young children, may develop kidney failure in the form of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

HUS can be a life threatening condition.

Once again, parents of little ones have another worry on our heads. And Boston personal injury lawyers are doing what they can to get the word out about the latest recall affecting the safety of little children.

In addition to the recall of Tylenol products and baby slings, we are now facing another crib recall.

In the wake of the Tylenol recall, Boston personal injury lawyers are remembering the last Tylenol recall, which happened in 1982 and had a strong connection to the greater Boston area.

In 1982, seven people were killed when they ingested cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in the greater Chicago area. The alleged suspect, however, was a Cambridge, Massachusetts resident.

Although some parts of this case exceed the jurisdiction of Boston personal injury attorneys, many Boston injury lawyers certainly know the names Jay-Z and David Ortiz. The former is an international rap star and the latter is a local sports hero.

But what's the connection between the two?

Last month, rap mogul Jay-Z sued Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz for the latter's use of the name 40/40 Clubs.

I've worked on several cases in trademark law before and one thing I know is that there may sometimes be greater issues that initially meet the eye. Sometimes, a trademark case may have hints of tort law to it. As a result, it's probably fair to say that this story isn't 100% out of the jurisdiction of a Boston personal injury attorney.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Sean Carter, is suing Red Sox player David Ortiz for alleged misappropriation of the name of Jay-Z's popular sports bar. The suit was filed in Manhattan Federal Court and names as plaintiff Jay-Z as well as his business partner, Juan Perez.

There are many foster families available that would take loving care of a foster kid. Yet, the abusive ones somehow slip through the cracks. Perhaps that's what makes this horrifying tale of foster child abuse so gut wrenching; making Boston personal injury lawyers, children's rights lawyers and constitutional lawyers sick to their stomachs.

A children's advocacy group is suing the State of Massachusetts for abuse and neglect, claiming that the children were badly harmed in foster care. Although thousands of children go through the Massachusetts foster care system, only six are plaintiffs, along with the Children's Rights group, in this class action lawsuit against the state.

Boston personal injury lawyers aren't hearing the end of the car recalls anytime soon.

Just when we thought Toyota had faded from the headlines, up rises Nissan.

Nissan, it would seem, has a wiring problem with the airbag.

So which angle should Boston personal injury lawyers take on this whole child medication recall?

Several over-the-counter children's medications have been recalled by the Food and Drug Administration.

It's not a simple recall this time and there are a host of actions and issues present in the latest recall of child medications.

The aftermath of Phoebe Prince's suicide left a mark on the state of Massachusetts.

But now comes a piece of legislation that presents a new front to Massachusetts personal injury lawyers in their bid to hold schools accountable for bullying.

A bill was passed yesterday by the Massachusetts House and Senate. The bill is a sweeping piece of antibullying legislation and would place accountability on school employees for bullying.

Massachusetts personal injury lawyers are warning all parents about the dangers of certain cribs.

This comes after the 2008 death of a North Attleboro infant, when he became trapped between the crib frame and the mattress, according to a statement by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Earlier this month, there was a recall of the Infantino baby sling, which was the alleged cause of a baby's death in Pennsylvania.